The Electric Archipelago (WIP)

Chapter 20: Wargames

I check the bed before sitting down. Ashley announces that she will keep an eye out for me while I work, I warn her that this could take a while. She reluctantly settles down for the long haul.

Smith's current game of choice is an historical simulation of the Martian war of independence. The senator's game records say that he likes to play aggressively, which is odd for a Pee Bee. He will be using a random name, so that he doesn't get swamped by people.

I log into a match. It assigns me to a team, I start seeing images of my teammates running around, shooting at the enemy. If this was one of those games that focused more on fun than realism, players would be spraying wildly, as much at their own teammates as their opponents. But this is meant to be something closer to a historical reenactment.

Everything is red orange. Rocks are struin across the sand, the ground looks like it is impossible to walk on. I see a crater, a reminder that we aren't in some North African desert, we are on the surface of Mars.

You can easily tell which ones are the Earthlings; their spacesuits are armored, militarized. The Martians like to stay quick; their suits are only lightly modified for combat.

My team has divided into several groups. A bunch of guys are crowded around an outpost that we must defend. A few guys are milling around near the center of the map. But what sticks out immediately are the four players that are making a push against the enemy's dropship, which is our main objective. I tell the game that I want to spawn in next to them.

An icon on my visor's Heads Up Display tells me that I am currently one of the Martian rebels, I will automatically switch teams if I stick around for the next match. Other than navigational data, the HUD doesn't give much information. This is definitely one of the realistic games. Another indicator of this fact is that there aren't any sound effects; it is just you in your helmet, breathing loudly when something happens.

In the surprisingly blue sky, I see a formation of VTOL gunships; fortunately, they are heading away from the battle. I start moving forward, sticking to a path that is mostly free of rocks. Upon rounding a bend, I spot the target.

The design is based on a regular personnel shuttle, the kind that is very common on Mars, as well as its moons and assorted space stations. The manufacture had added a layer of armor, a few gun and missile pods, and a beefier power plant. The Earthlings loaded them by the dozens onto troop ships that they stuck in low orbit, where they waited to deploy soldiers to the surface.

The dropship has landed next to an apparatus that is imbedded in the ground. I believe that it is a water extractor. A group of rebels are crowded around the structure, which towers above them. Incoming laser fire is eating away at the base of the device, which is glowing white hot in some places.

Now I am faced with a dilemma. I need to get over there and see if any of them is Smith. But that move is about the dumbest one I could make; it would be much better if I stayed where I am and shot at the enemy from a different angle.

I elect to take my time, help out my team. Maybe they will be more tolerant of me running around looking through visors at faces that might not even accurately represent the player's real appearance. A few well aimed shots drops the hostile troopers. I run over to the others. After reaching them I take a knee, give them a once over as I catch my breath.

Each of them has at least one spot where silver duct tape has been used to patch a hole or hold some piece of gear into place. Unit patches and insignia have been painted on their space suits. I see everything from armored unicorns to eagles with banners and medieval weapons clutched in their talons.

A man with a lamp stuck on his suit's shoulder pad and enough spare batteries to power a dozen rifles greets me, "My good dustboy, you have come just in time! The red is smarter than the blue, this they will learn post haste!"